Law Times

Page 4 November 2, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com LSUC officially opens new tribunal offices Regulator aims to boost perception of independence with separate location BY NEIL ETIENNE Law Times ndependent, but not neces- sarily seen as such since its launch in 2014, the Law So- ciety Tribunal has cut the ribbon on its new surroundings and put some distance between itself and the Law Society of Up- per Canada's offices. Formerly headquartered at Osgoode Hall, the tribunal of- ficially opened its new offices on the fourth f loor of 375 Univer- sity Ave. on Wednesday. It fea- tures several modern accessibil- ity aids and three hearing rooms and, for some, spurs a belief the new location will create a better distance between the tribunal and the law society. "Before, it was independent but it was still connected physi- cally. This will bring confidence to the public [that] independent review can be conducted and to the people who have the occa- sion to come here," says Attor- ney General Madeleine Meil- leur, who helped cut the ribbon to officially open the offices on Oct. 28 even though they've been functioning since early September. She added that as the min- ister responsible for creating accessibility standards, "it was music to my ears" when she was able to explore the offices that feature assistive-listening de- vices, braille signage, cameras for Internet broadcasting, and monitors for testifying remotely. Tribunal chairman David Wright, who has served in the role since the law society estab- lished the body in March 2014, says the next step now is to mod- ernize the hearing process and boost its independence. "A lot of the accessibility things could have been done at the old tribunal [offices], but this is open, it's welcoming and accessible to the public, and it's outside the walls of the society," he says. James Morton, a civil liti- gator who sometimes acts as counsel at the tribunal, says the new surroundings have gone a long way in achieving the goal of fostering an environment of comfort, independence, and professionalism. "Certainly, it enhances the dignity and respect that the tribunal will get from the prac- titioners and perhaps, more generally, from the public," says Morton. "I've always thought it's un- fortunate that many of our courts, particularly the Ontario Court of Justice, are not housed in buildings that ref lect the im- portance of the institution. We want buildings that say that so- ciety values what goes on here, and I think that will be ref lected in the tribunal structure." Morton also credits other changes, such as additional non- bencher adjudicators and a non- bencher chairman in Wright, with providing a sense of greater independence. Morton says he has already appeared in front of Wright about six times as well as in the new surroundings and notes he brings an expertise that instils confidence. "The law society and the dis- cipline process have received some very significant criticism in the last few years," says Morton. "Overall, I think this is a good thing," he adds. Morton notes there has been a perception among some prac- titioners of bias toward com- plainants, something he felt was unfair. "But perceptions are hard to overcome sometimes," he says. "The signal [the new tribunal] gives to society as a whole is very positive." Law society Treasurer Janet Minor, whom Wright credited with playing a major role in the creation of the tribunal after the passing of Bill 111 in 2013, said she was happy to see it "moving forward to a really great place, both metaphorically and geo- graphically." "It's a real boost to come over and see what's being offered as we should be offering to the public more transparency, more accessibility, and more privacy at the same time," she said in welcoming those gathered for the ribbon cutting last week. Besides the three fully equipped hearing rooms, the new offices are publicly accessi- ble via elevator with a reception area, several separate rooms for licensees and counsel to meet, and overf low space for smaller hearings or additional seat- ing where the public can watch the proceedings broadcast on a monitor if the hearing room is full. 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Call 1.800.387.5164 or visit www.carswell.com Untitled-1 1 2015-10-28 7:41 AM I David Wright, Madeleine Meilleur, and Janet Minor get ready to cut the ribbon at the Law Society Tribunal's new offices last week. Photo: Neil Etienne

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